Welcome TR Forum,
I have been following many of the posts on this Forum for the past 2 years, but this is my first posting. I have been using the TR training plans now for for about 2 years and really feel the difference while I am riding with my friends here in N. Georgia area. I wanted to post my next big adventure in hopes that the followers of this Forum can join/follow us on our Ride Across America or at least support our mission to help the many wounded warriors that need our help. Below is a description of the “WHY” and at the bottom of this post you will find a link to our Wounded Warrior page that will show you our route from Santa Barbara, CA to Charleston, SC.
I truly appreciate the structured training plans provided by TR and believe I am ready to tackle the 11 states and 3,400 miles ahead of me, while we cross America!
On September 21st we will depart Santa Barbara, CA on my bicycle, headed for Charleston, SC on Nov 8th. I am writing to ask for your prayers for our safety and for you to consider supporting the mission of our ride.
I will be joined by two close friends, Mike Price/Kathy Matejka and numerous exceptional volunteers and cyclists across the nation in this inaugural Blue Angels Foundation Ride Across America to SAVE LIVES. Our cycling team, the Blue Angels Foundation and Wounded Warrior Project are partnering to raise awareness about the veteran suicide problem and to ask for your financial support. Our goal is BIG….together we want to raise $1,000,000 which will help save 200 lives! Our is aim is to raise $500,000 which will be matched dollar for dollar for a total of $1,000,000. 100% of your donation will go toward the mission.
Here is the problem— here is the WHY we are riding—and here is the WHY we are asking you to donate. As a nation, we lose 20 veterans to suicide EVERY DAY! To put this in context, since 9/11, 6,800 service members have been killed during 18 years of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan; and yet America loses more than 7,000 veterans PER YEAR to suicide. The BAF/WWP Team is committed to raising awareness and funding to reverse this trend…your generous donation will help us SAVE LIVES! You can take great pride in knowing you are helping to support the wounded veteran community and our nation at large. Your donation will help SAVE LIVES!
To provide more insight I am attaching the latest BAF video (forthcoming) that highlights the stories of two wounded warriors we have come to know personally. These are amazing men who volunteered to serve our nation and came home banged up. They have told me the PTS protocol they received “saved my life”. There are more than 500,000 wounded warriors suffering from PTS or traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)…the line of people seeking medical help is too long. The BAF and WWP are stepping in and providing PTS treatment through the Warrior Care Network (WCN). WCN consists of four hospitals that have institutionalized the PTS protocol and achieved a 96% success rate! These programs are located at Emory in Atlanta, Mass General in Boston, Rush Medical in Chicago, and the UCLA Medical Center in LA. I personally visited with wounded warriors and staff at Emory in August and it was extremely moving. It is hard to put into words what it feels like to hear a warrior and his spouse tell you that “my life was saved by the Blue Angles Foundation and the program at Emory”.
We live, work, and raise our families in the greatest country in the world. America is great because of one concept… Freedom . The Freedoms we enjoy are protected by a small segment of our population who lay it all on the line, willing to give their life, so that we may be FREE. When wounded warriors return home we owe all of them medical and personal care so they may regain their self-esteem and self-confidence and positively transition to new opportunities in the civilian sector and lead productive lives. Please join us in passing the word to raise awareness about the veteran suicide crisis. Forward this email to friends and colleagues. Our aim is for this effort to go “viral”.
$5,000 puts a wounded warrior through WCN outpatient protocol. Please join us by making a donation that you feel great about…every donation will be matched and 100% of your donation goes to the Warrior Care Network. Join hands with family and friends and support this important effort. We are grateful for your consideration.
If interested, please click on this link, Blue Angels Foundation/Wounded Warrior Project Ride Across America to Save Lives - Fundraising For Wounded Warrior Project Commu to make your donation.
Social Media ( content to follow, once our ride starts )
- Facebook: BAF/WWP Ride to Save Warrior Lives | Facebook
- Instagram: OLM Kathy (@baf_wwp_ride_to_save_warriors) • Instagram photos and videos
- Twitter: @BafWwp
Thanks for your consideration,
Matt Prather
(404) 642-4944